In the Kingdom
by olimakiella
Summary: When Terre de Malfoi is caught in war, the stableboy has to take the Prince into hiding. AU


In the Woods  
Author: **olimakiella**  
Words: 1,605  
Pairing: H/D  
Warnings: AU, princedramaqueen!Draco, stableboy!Harry  
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.  
Summary: When Terre de Malfoi is caught in war, stableboy!Harry has to take the Prince into hiding.

---

They had been in the woods for days now.

Frankly, Harry had had enough of it. Well, not so much the woods itself but more the company he had. Prince Draco Malfoy, aka, pain in his arse, had started off all quiet and unsure and at first Harry had wondered what on earth the people of _Terre de Malfoi_ were going on about. The rumour mill had it that he was spoiled, obnoxious and sometimes just downright mean. Of course the ladies saw him as a hunk, and any time he looked their way, they forgave him his drawbacks. But Harry had seen none of it. When war was brought to the land from the neighbouring domain of Weaslanderry-Upon-Sea, the Prince had been taken and shoved into a carriage and dropped on the doorstep of the last house on the outskirts of town.

Harry had been asleep. Luckily his parents hadn't. They'd heard the cannons and the war cries and knew that soon they'd have a special visitor. Of course, they'd neglected to tell their only son that they'd formed an agreement with the King. So when Harry had been promptly pulled out of bed, he was told - upon hitting the floor - that he was to get their best horse and have it harnessed immediately. Though he had no idea what was going on, he'd done as his parents asked and sat on the horse without moving on punishment of a _stern_ talking to.

Needless to say, when a dishevelled and near-to-tears Prince arrived and was put on the horse behind him, he was a bit lost for words.

He'd not seen Prince Draco this close before. Even though he'd worked in the castle most of his life, he'd only ever been around the stables and not much else. He rode into the woods as per his parents' instruction and couldn't hep but notice how the blond behind him gripped his shirt tighter so he could turn around and watch the castle as it disappeared behind the hundreds of trees that would become their refuge until further notice.

---

The first three days had been fine. The Prince had stayed quiet and observant and was usually found sitting at their campsite staring at nothing in particular.

Then, he'd begun to speak.

And when he spoke, he _never shut up_. It was in that moment that Harry first gave into the words of the rumour mill and wished they could return home immediately.

Usually he'd hunt just to be doing something and mostly because they'd run out of food after four days. He'd not paid much heed as he'd packed because he honestly didn't know what was going on but he'd packed his bow which was easy to carry and the easiest of weapons to use in the woods if he were to catch game.

But even the animals weren't that stupid and after another week and a half of their family disappearing, most of them had begun to move away. Especially after Harry'd made the mistake of bringing Prince Draco with him and, honestly, a pack of wild dogs made less noise than him. So when they'd finished the last of the meat and the complaints of hunger became too much Harry had an idea.

Fishing.

---

Draco walked to the lake edge and sat staring out at the man who'd been his rescuer and keeper for nearly three weeks. He was standing in the water, his trousers rolled up to above his knees and bent over with only his hands in the water. Draco frowned, it was rather odd, was it some sort of excercise? "What are you doing?" he laughed as he sat down at the shore of the lake.

"Shh," Harry said softly. His arms remained straight hanging in the water, his hands just visible. Just then, Draco caught a glimpse of something moving by Harry's hand. He looked up at him alarmed. Harry was staring straight at it but no emotion was shown on his face. Coudln't he see it? It was right there, how could he not notice it!

"There's something by your hand," he whispered urgently.

"Shh," was all Harry said, his brow creasing into a frown momentarily before it smoothened again. Draco looked back up at his face. It had the concentration lines he usually only saw when he was holding up his bow and tracking something Draco could never see. It was relaxing in a way, to see him in tune with his surroundings. It made up for the load of nothing Draco knew about his. Everything seemed normal to the stableboy out here, like he was at home. Draco's face dropped as he thought of his home. He had seen the smoke arising from the centre of the town where his castle was. _His _home was probably burned to the ground by now. Damn Weasel bastards. He'd wanted to stay and fight but his parents had ordered guards to take him away. He'd struggled for a good while before they practically threw him into the carriage and sat inside it with him in case he tried to escape.

He hadn't though. He knew he couldn't fight them. He wished he knew more about out here, after all it _would_ all be his one day. Much sooner than he'd like if his parents' fate were what he hoped it wasn't. He wished he could treat out here like home, the way Harry did. Maybe then he'd feel more comfortable. He'd gotten use to sleeping outdoors now, and their campsite was becoming familiar in ways only the castle had been to him after long trips away. He could almost compare the camp of theirs to his home now.

But at home, he didn't have people throwing live water creatures at him. They wouldn't dare.

Draco screamed and wrestled with it for a few seconds in his lap before throwing it back at Harry feeling _thoroughly_ scandalised. He hopped up and wiped himself comically and repeatedly until he was sure _all of it_ was gone. The fish missed Harry completely though, so any thoughts of him getting a taste of his own medicine was thrown out the window. Hitting the water instead, it swam away as quickly as possible.

"What did you do that for!" they both yelled at each other.

Draco stood up stubbornly and spluttered, "You threw a creature at me!" he snapped wiping his face where water had splashed on it. _Urgh, I'll wash and wash but I'll never be clean._

Harry huffed. It had taken him a while to get that fish and it was big enough to feed the both of them. "I had to! It's not as if I can put it in my pocket!" He crossed his arms nonetheless displaying his outfit even more. It was true, nothing else could fit in there, a feature of Harry that Draco had come to admire, _especially_ when the brunet bent over. "I thought you would catch it."

Draco stared at him. "Why?" he said confused, "I don't want it."

Harry cocked an eyebrow. "Well unless you'd rather _starve_, you'll have to learn to."

The disgusted face that crossed Draco's face showed then was almost laughable. "I am _not_ eating that!" he said regally.

"It's just fish! You've had fish before haven't you?"

"Yes, I have, and _that_," – He thrust a finger out to the lake. – "is not a fish!"

Harry watched him for a second trying to puzzle that out before it hit him. Then he started to laugh out loud. "It's still _alive_, you pillock!" he said laughng even harder. "You've really never seen a live fish?" He chuckled and bent back over resuming his stance to try and catch another one. Hopefully all the splashing hadn't scared them away. "I suppose you were brought up to believe that all fish are born sautéed in asparagus," he accused.

Draco scoffed at the insult. "No," he said obviously picking himself up from the bank. Harry turned to watch him, waiting for what was coming next. He knew something was coming next, the blond was a stubborn know-it-all Prince. There was _always_ something next. "Fish are born as caviar, _everyone_ knows that," he said matter of factly and made his way back to camp.

Harry watched the blond storm away, eyes lingering over his arse as he stomped. He shook his head chuckling, suddenly not minding that they'd have to wait to return home.

~fin~


End file.
